Q: Dr. Eppley, I am looking to get some surgeries eventually for gender affirmation and my PCP recommended your office if I had some more specific questions. The surgery I am mainly interested in at this time is FFS. Does Dr. Eppley recommend a certain time being on HRT before he performs this? Also, would it be possible to get an estimate on how much this usually costs? A: FFS is a collection of over a dozen procedures, most of which are done to change the structure/shape of the face. Not every patient needs all of the available FFS procedures based on the natural shape of their face. The FFS ..read more

Q: Dr. Eppley,  i am interested in getting custom jaw implants and upper maxilla implants with Dr Eppley. i’m a transgender woman and previously have had a few jaw surgery procedures during my transition including double jaw surgery and also mandible shaving (all done in Korea) i’m from the UK. i got these done years ago and i never was so happy with the results as i feel the surgeon shaved off too much of my mandible and as i am aging all the definition is now gone in that area. i want to get more of a western ideal squarer jaw, and also correct the asymmetries i have in my upper mandibl ..read more

Q: Dr. Eppley, Quick question, I’m considering to have a skin rejuvenation procedure done with CO 2 laser or something similar, I’m wondering, will these risk damaging my infraorbital implant if used on the tissue that lies above? A: Thanks for the long term followup. In terms of the IOM Implants they are down at the bone level while any form of skin rejuvenation affects only the skin/dermis. No significant heat or tissue damaging effects can get that deep. In addition the implants are structurally stable up to 190 degrees Celsius before they will melt so I believe they will be OK! Dr. Barry E ..read more

Q: Dr. Eppley, I’m interested in discussing a chin implant overlay. I’ve had a previous sliding genioplasty and would like to get a broader chin and smooth out the minor bone irregular from the genioplasty cut. A: Overlaying a prior sliding genioplasty between getting a specific aesthetic change as well as to adequately cover the posterior bony stepoffs is optimally done with a custom chin implant design. Dr. Barry Eppley World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon The post Can I Get Chin Implant After A Sliding Genioplasty? appeared first on Plastic Surgeon | Dr. Barry L. Eppley, MD ..read more

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am an asian male, 29 year old. I recently did a custom jaw implant (just jaw implant, no chin implant) with about 5mm lengthening and 3.7mm widening (each side). I am almost 2 months post op but since 1 month ago, i noticed an obvious lump where the jaw implant ends near the chin. When i run my hand over the jawline from the chin, i can feel that the jawline is not one straight line. Even in photos, i can see the bump. The surgeon said its swelling but i feel that its more likely bad placement or the design of the implant is not good. Can you offer your advice? A: This is betw ..read more

Q: Dr. Eppley, Hey I was planning to do boxing in the future and get some implants. I heard something saying that it’s not a good idea to get implants if you’re boxing. I was wondering if there’s anyway you can possibly make them smaller or make in a certain way so that they don’t have a chance of falling off. A: Skull and facial implants quickly become encapsulated which firmly locks them into their location on the bone, making it extremely difficult for them to ever be displaced by any external force. I would have no concerns with boxing after getting facial implants once they are well ..read more

Q: Dr. Eppley, Is it possible to make my skull more egg shaped… narrower and taller and more 3D shaped at least from the back? Should this surgery be done before or after a 3 piece lefort1? Thanks A: Skull reshaping procedures such as increasing height with implants and narrowing the sides by temporal muscle reduction are common independently done procedures. But when combined can create an overall skull shape effect like more of an egg-shape. How effective that would be for your head shape requires pictures so i can some imaging to see what degree of these changes are possible. Skull reshapin ..read more

Q: Dr. Eppley, I would like to know if skull reduction is a possibility cause I will like to reduce mine from circumference 63cm to 58cm. Will that be possible?  A:Such a circumferential measured head reduction change is not surgically achievable. Dr. Barry Eppley World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon The post Can I Decrease My Head Circumference By 5cms? appeared first on Plastic Surgeon | Dr. Barry L. Eppley, MD ..read more

Q: Dr. Eppley, I recently got jaw angle implants size 8 mm and it has been 4.5 weeks. My left side however seems a bit larger and the jaw angle goes slightly further than the cheekbone while the right side is in line. My first question is: do you think the asymmetry could be due to swelling or that’s just how it is going to be moving forward? Since the implant also added slight vertical length, I feel that when I smile my face looks slightly bulkier than before in the lower half due to my cheeks extending. My second question is do you think that could change with swelling decreasing or that’s ..read more

Q: Dr. Eppley, I want to get some implants in the lower part of my face to improve it without changing the features, just enlarging the size. Also, implants in the forehead and brow bones to make the eyelids less visible. I want to inquire about the extent of the change in my appearance and whether people will notice a big difference. I am 18 years old. When will the face bones stops growing ، and are implants affected if the face grows? A: In answer to your facial augmentation questions: 1) The extent of change in facial appearance from custom facial implants is a direct reflection of their d ..read more